What If You Could Change the Future?
by NikkiB1973
Summary: "What if you could change the future?" He whispered. Bella's eyes opened wide... Set in Breaking Dawn AU.


**What If You Could Change the Future?**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Edward sighed sadly as he felt Bella's temperature plummet, goose pimples prickled all along her arms and her face paled, making the dark circles underscoring her eyes stand out. She shuddered as he released his hold on her. "I will get Seth to take my place," he said mournfully.

Bella shivered as Rosalie quickly pulled a thick, fleecy blanket around her, tucking all the sides in to make sure that no draughts could sneak in. She flashed Bella a look of sympathy. "Does that help?" she asked gently.

Bella nodded, even though it made no difference at all. She was weakening, she could feel her life force being sucked dry. The baby she was carrying was feeding off of her blood. It had been horrendous the first time that Bella was forced to drink human blood in order to replenish her own. She had closed her eyes and forced the gloopy liquid down, tears streaking her face as she wondered again how her life had turned out this way. She was alternately hot, then cold. Edward would hold her close when her temperature burned her skin, but when it dropped, like it was doing more frequently as her abdomen expanded, it had been Seth who would keep her warm.

There had been no sign of Jacob for two days, he had taken off one morning, unable to stand the sight of her dying slowly before his eyes. It was sheer torture to him to have to witness that the girl he loved was sacrificing herself for this thing. He refused to see it as a baby...nothing about this situation was normal. He had left the Cullen mansion, keys to one of their cars clutched in his hand given to him by Edward of all people. It was at that point that Jacob could see in the leech's eyes that he wished he could do the same thing. He had taken the car and sped away, out of Forks and away, not looking back.

"You need to move over a bit, Bella..." Seth's husky voice made her open her eyes. She smiled at him weakly.

"Sorry Seth, I am sorry you have to do this..." she mumbled, her voice weak.

"Hush, Bella, it's okay..." Seth assured her. He carefully helped her to shift along the couch and then slid in beside her, wrapping his long arms around her thin body. Bella sank gratefully into his warmth as it began to seep into her chilled bones.

"Thanks Seth..." she murmured as her eyes closed in blessed relief. Bella sank into darkness.

XXXXXX

A low growl made her open her eyes again. She raised her head slowly trying to focus on the tall person standing in front of her. "What else was I supposed to do?" She heard Seth protest. "She was freezing and you bailed."

So Jacob was back then.

"Just let her go Seth, I'll take over now..." Jacob's voice sounded tired. Bella wondered where he had been and why he had bothered coming back. He always came back.

She felt her body being moved as carefully as possible as Seth moved out of the way to be replaced with Jacob. She winced as the slightest movement of her body caused pain to flash through her. "I'm sorry, Bells..." Jacob's breath fanned across her chilled skin as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. One hand caught hold of hers and he laced his fingers with her own.

"Be careful with her dog..." Rosalie's icy voice interjected. She hovered over Bella protectively.

"Go back to your coffin, blondie. You're making Bella freeze hovering over her like a dead fly." He sneered.

Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "If she didn't need you dogs for warmth I would kick your ass for saying that to me... " she shot back at him.

"Please, stop fighting..." Bella's weak voice made them both pause.

"I am sorry Bella, he just gets under my skin..." Rosalie apologised, her eyes fixated worriedly on Bella's growing belly.

"I bet...could you give us some time alone, please..." Bella asked her, begging with her eyes.

"Edward won't like it..." Rosalie warned. "He will be back from his hunt soon..."

"Please...I haven't got much time..." Bella begged again.

Rosalie's expression softened, she finally looked at Bella as she nodded. "Okay...if that's what you want..." within seconds she vanished from the room.

Jacob breathed a sigh of relief when Rosalie left the room, he felt Bella sag against his side and he brushed the hair that had flopped over her eyes. He winced, her once lustrous hair felt so dry and brittle. Bella lay her head on his chest so she could hear his heart beating, she loved the steady thrumming sound it made. It was strong, just like him. They both sat in silence for a moment, just being...

"Jake, why did you come back? You should have stayed away..." Bella said eventually. She felt a kick in her abdomen and her hand grasped her belly as she groaned in pain.

Jacob felt every bit of her pain, he placed his warm hand over hers and held onto her tightly as she shuddered. After a couple of seconds Bella's body relaxed again and she hid her head in his chest so he couldn't see her tears.

"I always come back...you know that..." Jacob's voice was husky as he spoke and Bella knew that it wasn't only her face that was wet with tears.

"Where did you go?" She whispered.

Jacob was silent for a moment as he thought about the best way to explain where he had been and what he had learned, even if he told her, he wondered whether it would change anything anyway. The decision was hers, it always had been. Bella raised her head weakly so she could look at him. "Jake..." she said again.

"I went back home to La Push, I needed to speak to the elders, there was something that I needed to ask them..." He replied eventually.

Bella's curiosity was piqued. "What did you need to know?" She whispered.

Jacob's dark eyes locked with hers as he studied her closely. "I needed to know why I didn't imprint with you..."

Bella's breath left her body at his confession. She tried to sit up but he held her still. "Why would you ask them that?" She demanded, her words coming out in a rush as she tried to control her breathing.

Jacob frowned, knowing that she was still deeply in denial. She had felt the pull at times, he was certain of that. They shared a connection. "I know that you have felt it Bella. That time when I came to your room after I phased, I could only do that because of what we shared. How else do you think I overcame Sam's Alpha command to stay away? Only an imprint bond can overcome that..."

"We are not imprinted..." Bella said fiercely. "Why are you saying these things?"

"Stop denying it,Bells. I know that you have felt the pull...what about the time I saved your life when you jumped from the cliff? I felt what you were going to do that it why I was able to reach you in time. When you opened your eyes and stared into mine, I know that you felt it then too..."

Bella opened her mouth and then shut it again, unable to issue a denial. "The last time it was there was in the tent that night, you remember? I know that you felt it, Bella...jeez that was the longest night of my life and then the next morning on the mountain when we kissed. Why do you think you had that vision? It was because the bond was at it's strongest...but still there was something blocking it..."

Bella frowned. "Blocking it? What on earth would cause that? What great reason did the elders come up with that would explain that, Jake? Or did they tell you that I am not the one? That all this time you have been deluding yourself..." her voice became high pitched the longer she spoke.

Jacob was not fazed by her anger. He knew that she had been suffering in her own way. The strong feelings she had for him and the unnatural ones that had developed between her and Cullen had been tearing her in half for months. He felt her slump back in his arms as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. She knew, she had always known.

"It's me isn't it?" She mumbled as slight tremors shook her body.

Jacob hugged her closer as he nodded. "Yeah honey, it's you. Old Quil thinks it may be because you're afraid."

"Afraid? Why would I be afraid of that?" Bella felt confusion clouding her mind. She felt so weak and exhausted. Her body craved Jacob's warmth and she found herself burrowing closer to him, his skin touching hers and setting it on fire. The baby in her lurched to one side and she just about managed to stifle her cry of pain. She did not want Rosalie running back in here.

"You have always been under the impression that you are not good enough, Bella. You seem to think that you not strong. Look at what you have been through. Cullen has used your doubts and fears to keep you by his side. I just don't think even he anticipated the outcome..." His eyes travelled to her round belly.

"But I am not good enough, Jake. For either of you...I told you this. You are better off without me..." Bella trotted out the same old lines.

"There you go again, Bella. I love you and you love me, why do you keep pushing me away for such stupid reasons. I can't believe that this is what you want, your life to end in this way. We could have had a family, been happy. How could you choose this over what we could have had? There must be something that I am missing here?" Jacob cried out passionately.

Bella remained quiet, her fragile state and exhaustion made her sleepy. "It's too late anyway, Jake. Why go over old ground? The decisions were my own and this is the end result. All I care about is making sure that my baby makes it..." she caressed her belly as her eyes began to droop shut.

Jacob watched her closely, he was certain that Bella's decisions had not been her own. Vampires had certain talents, some even special gifts. The Cullen's had an abundance of them. Old Quil had been sure that it was their subliminal influence that had been the reason behind many of Bella's bizarre choices. He saw her eyes flutter close as she gave into her tiredness and he began to panic. He didn't have much time and he needed her to stay awake and listen to the rest.

"Bells," he whispered.

"What, Jake?" She mumbled sleepily.

"What if you could change the future?" He asked her.

Bella's eyes snapped open. "What do you mean?" She kept her voice low, sensing that she needed to make sure they were not overheard.

Jacob leaned down so he could speak directly in her ear. "I know a way. The elders told me...but the decision is yours. You have to let me in, Bells. You have to let the imprint bond complete..."

It sounded too fantastical to Bella, but then hadn't everything that had happened in her life been just that. A longing opened up in her heart for a normal life. A life where she didn't have to live with fear. Jacob's warmth surrounded her and she let herself just feel for once. The tension left her body as she relaxed against him, her hands cradling her swollen belly.

"My baby..." she murmured. "What about my baby?"

Jacob placed his hands over hers and laced their fingers together. "You won't lose your baby, Bells. It will just be mine..."

"Yours?" Bella repeated, she was shocked as she heard the longing in her own voice.

"Yeah, mine. Remember the vision Bella, remember our children. You need to be the one to make the decision..." He told her again.

Bella felt her eyes drifting shut, she couldn't fight the tiredness anymore. She felt Jacob's warmth encircle her as her hands caressed her heavy bump. The baby inside wigged madly, but this time she didn't feel the usual pain. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she let down her mental defences and allowed herself to enter the vision she had shared with Jacob on the mountaintop...

XXXXXX

Jacob opened his eyes and it took him a moment to adjust to the darkness. The only light was coming from an open fire that shot sparks up into the air. He was sitting across from Old Quil who was throwing some sort of ash type substance into the flames. That was why the fire was sparking. There was a sweet, heavy smell in the air and Old Quil was chanting, the words were ancient and Jacob only recognised some of them. He continued to watch the elder in silence, hoping with all his heart that his soul mate would listen...

Time seemed endless as Old Quil continued to chant and Jacob closed his eyes again, finding himself repeating the old man's words as he begged his ancestors for help. Then it all became clear...

XXXXXX

The fire was out and the night air was blowing a cool breeze, soothing Jacob's feverish brow. "Do you think it worked?" He asked Old Quil, his voice wavering with trepidation.

"The only way to know is for you to go and look..." He advised, a small smile playing at his lips.

Jacob gave him a wry smile in return. "You always speak in riddles..."

Old Quil laughed softly. "The answer was always in front of you. You already know the outcome. Let go of your fears and face your destiny..."

Jacob stood up, his legs feeling stiff after sitting for so long. "Where will I find her?"

Old Quil beat at his chest with his hand. "Let your heart guide you..."

Jacob just nodded and left the old man, speeding off into the night.

XXXXXX

His instincts led him toward the beach, his feet sank into the soft sand as he headed for the one place that had been the scene for so many defining moments in his relationship with Bella. He approached the old driftwood log expecting to find her sitting there, waiting for him. His heart plummeted as he realised she wasn't there. It hadn't worked, none of it. The leech's charms were still stronger than any bond he shared with the woman he loved after all. Jacob slumped down onto the log, his head falling into his hands as he let his despair wash over him. After everything Bella had chosen to stick to the path that she was on.

Moments ticked by as Jacob let himself sink into darkness. He replayed every moment in his head when Bella had a chance to change the course of her life and choose him. He ticked each moment off in his head until he reached the last one where he was holding her in his arms, her hands cradling her swollen belly as she asked him about her baby...

That must have been it, he had felt her wavering, the imprint bond had surged through him at that precise moment. He had told her that she would still have her baby, but she must have not believed him...

More time ticked by as he remained in the same position, grieving for what could have been. The stars came out and the moon lit a path across the sand. It was at this moment that he felt it or rather her...some undefinable feeling pulled him to his feet as his eager eyes scanned the long beach, and that is when he saw her...

Bella was walking slowly along the shoreline, her large brown eyes searching for something. She wore a loose top and a pair of jeans. Her hair was blown back from her pale face as she headed toward the old driftwood log. Jacob's eyes were drawn to her hands, they were holding onto her belly, which was slightly swollen. A relieved grin spread across his face as he ran across the sand to meet her...

The circle of life that had been broken was now fixed...

_**FIN...**_


End file.
